Construction toy



March 4, 1952 P E, WILCOX 2,587,798

CONSTRUCTION Toy Filed July 2o, 1948 I s sheets-sheet 1 Filed July 20, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ,0H/UP E. W/LCOX March 4, 1952 P. E. wlLcox CONSTRUCTlON TOY 3 sheets-sheet 5 Filed July 20, 1948 JNVENTOR, pH/L /D 5. W/L COX BY ATTQNEY Patented Mar. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONSTRUCTION TOY Philip E. Wilcox, New York, N. Y. Application July 20, 1948, Serial No. 39,705

(Cl. llr6-19) Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in toys and more particularly to novel and advantageous constructional elements of two or more kinds adapted to be combined in a great variety of structures, and to structures and structural parts built up by use of said elements.

An important object of the invention is to provide novel and advantageous construction elements adapted to be combined to form a great variety of structures.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel and advantageous structures built up of elements of the character specified.

Still another object of the invention is to provide elongated structural elements of light weight and particularly adapted to resist longitudinal stresses of compression or tension.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide elements adapted to receive said longitudinalstress-resisting elements and to automatically lock the two kinds of elements together.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel and advantageous devices adapted for use in more elaborate structures.

A still further object of the invention is to `provide novel and advantageous structures or build ings including the aforesaid elements and combinations thereof.

A yet further object of the invention is to provide sets of cooperating elements adapted for interlocking engagement between an element of one set and an element of another set.

In carrying out the invention, elements embodying the invention may comprise elongated members, preferably of circular cross section. Said elongated members are subjected so longitudinal stresses of compression and tension, and in order to meet these requirements as Well as others, said elongated members are preferably tubular and adapted to yield inwardly or be indented. It has been found that the requirements for said elongated members are particularly well met by using light tubular members formed from helically wound paper strips. As a matter of fact straws or sippers such as used at soda fountains are very well adapted for this purpose.

These elongated members may be secured at desired points to transverse supporting and hold ing elements. Said supporting members may be in the form of angles with lines of registering openings at opposite sides of a lcentral fold line of a strip of stiff paper or other suitable material. At one surface of such a strip there is a score extending midway between the two lines of apertures or openings to determine the position of a fold and to facilitate folding at that location. The strips are partially fold-ed along said score lines with the scores at the inside of the dihedral angles thus formed. The folds are not flat and the material is of such character or 1e.

siliency that the sides of the angle, when released after compression, will spring outwardly to a normal angular shape.

Said openings or perforations are of the same shape as the cross-section of one of said elongated members and each opening is just large enough to receive one of the same when the opening and said elongated member are coaXially positioned. In order to pass one of said elongated members through corresponding openings at opposite sides of a fold line, the sides of the angle member must be pressed together at that point. Then, when released. the sides of the angle spread and grip the longitudinal member. This gripping results in indenting the surface of the elongated member when the latter is of suitable material. Sruch a connection is very effective and may -be said to rigidify at that location any structure of which the connection forms a part. I

Multiple angle strips may also be used. For example, at the corners of a house, use may be made of a double angle-strip in which two single strips are arranged side by side and are parts of the same strip of material.

The structural elements embodying the present invention can be used to construct a great variety of objects.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear upon consideration of the following detailed description and of the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a perforated and scored blank for use in making an angle mem-` ber constituting an element of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an illustration of a completed. angle as viewedV from a point at the front thereof and above its upper end;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating a blank' for use in making a double angle;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating adouble angle;

Fig. 5 is a view illustrating an eiongated tubular member of circular cross-section adapted for use with the perforated angles;

Fig. 6 is a View of a rod of relatively soft material of which short lengths are used for `conf necting tubular elongated members end to end;

Fig. 7 isV a` fragmentary top plan View of the flattened roof of a house with gables, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a view of the right edge of the structure shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a view of the lower edge of the structure of Fig. 7;

Fig. l0 is a top plan View of the peripheral Walls of a house of which the roof has been removed;`

Fig. 1l is a front elevation of the house before the roof is placed on the peripheral walls;

Fig. 12 is an end elevation of the completed house;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a tubular member gripped by an angle;

Fig. 14 is an exploded view of the elements of a joint between the ends of two tubular members; and

Fig. 15 is a View illustrating a joint involving the elements illustrated in Fig. 14.

Referring to the drawings Fig. 1 illustrates a perforated blank 20 in which round perforations 2l are arranged in straight lines on opposite sides of a central score line defined by a score 22 on the rear face of the blank. Said blank 20 is folded back over the score at the rear face thereof to form an angle or angle member 23. The material of the blank, preferably paper, is of sufficient stiffness and resilience to cause the angle 23 when the sides are pressed together to return to its usual form (Fig. 2) when the sides are released. Preferably the material is also of such stiffness and resilience that when the sides are pressed together at one point, the same effect will not be produced at other points along the angle.

The angle 23 may be used to receive and grip tubular members 24, one of which is illustrated in Fig. 5. To this end each of the tubular members 24 may be passed through corresponding apertures or perforations 2l by pressing the sides of the angle 23 together at a desired point, thus bringing apertures 2l on opposite sides of the fold line into registration. The tubular member 24 to be used can then be passed through the two openings in registration or alignment with each other. The hollow member 24 ts closely in said openings and when the sides of the angle are released, they take the positions illustrated in Fig. 13 and -indent at 25 the surface of the tubular member 24, thus effecting a strong gripping of the tubular member by the angle 23.

Where it is desired to lengthen the tubular members beyond a standard length, any two of said tubular members may be connected end to end by means of a plug 26 of which opposite ends are inserted into the adjacent ends of the tubularmembers to be connected. Plugs 26 can advantageously be made from rods of balsa wood 21 which is not only light but comparatively soft. As illustrated these plugs are cut from rods 21 (Fig. 6) of balsa wood, said rods being of square cross section. Such pieces of balsa wood may be tapered at their ends by the lingers of the worker pressing down on the longitudinal edges and these tapered ends are inserted into the ends of the two tubular members to be connected. As these ends of the plugs are pressed into the ends of the tubular members, the latter will be deformed to cross sections corresponding to the cross section of rod 21, thus producing a strong connection at joints 28 (Figs. '1, 9 and 15). As will be brought out hereinafter, it is frequently necessary to use straws 24 of less than the standard length. It is therefore of great importance to have tubular members of such material that it can beeasily cut by ordinary scissors or the like.

In order to form corners, use may be made of double angles or double angle members, 29 (Fig. 4), each of which may be considered as two angles 23 arranged side by side and integrally connected. The double angle 29 is formed from a blank 30 (Fig. 3) having a central score line defined by a score 3| at the front face of the blank. By folding the outer portions of the blank-rearwardly about fold lines 22 and the inner portions 4 forwardly about score 3l, the double angle 29 will be completed. It should be noticed that the perforations 2| in Figs. 3 and 4 are arranged in the same general manner as in Figs. 1 and 2.

An example of the use to which the tubular members or straws 24, single angles 23 and double angles 29 may be put, is found in the house illustrated in Figs. '7 through 12. In this house a roof 32 illustrated in detail in Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 12, rests on peripheral walls, comprising a front 33, ends 34 and a back 35 (Fig. 10). The roof is formed in two parts 39 each of which comprises two of the single angles 23 and connecting members, each one of which is made up of two of the tubular members 24 connected at a joint 28 by means of a plug 26 as illustrated in detail in Figs. 14 and 15. At each hinge 31, the end of one angle member 23 lies within the other, and in order to enable the two angle members to take the angular position shown in Fig. 12, the vertices of the angle members are cut away so as to leave inclined edges 38 (Figs. 7, 8 and 12). This also enables alignment of the four perforations.

The end portions of the connecting members are mounted at their opposite ends in registering openings in the sides of the corresponding angles 23. Each hal-f of the roof is illustrated as including seventeen of the connecting members and the two parts are shown as connected by an additional connecting member or hinge pivot which passes through the adjacent ends of the angles 23 of the two halves of the roof, and provides a pivot for each of the hinges 31 (Figs. '1, 8 and 12) In placing the connecting members through openings or perforations 2l in the angles 23 of two angle members 23, it is relatively easy to insert the rst one but it is much more diicult to insert subsequent connecting members. However, this difliculty may be obviated by clamping together the sides of the angle members 23 so that straws or connecting members can be passed easily through the perforations of the two angles 23. After all of the connecting members have been inserted the angles may be released so as to spread and clamp said members. As stated hereinbefore the angles press against opposite sides of the straws and tend to indent them. Furthermore pressure on the straws at opposite sides produces a tendency to force the intermediate portions of the walls of the straws outwardly and thus engage with greater pressure the edges of the perforations at the corresponding locations.

Each half of the roof structure thus formed is strong enough to retain its form but in order to lock the parts together even more substantially, straws 24 are forced between the connecting members and the vertices of the angles. This tends to spread the angles to a greater extent and to improve the clamping of the connecting members. Y

As illustrated in Fig. 10, the peripheral wall includes double angles 29 at the four corners, two single angles 23 at the front, two single angles at the back and one single angle at each end, the single angles at the ends being used in forming the gables at the ends of the house. Each of the ends is formed with tubular members or straws 24 extending across the same and supported at their ends in single angle portions of the double angles 29.

Certain of the upper straws 24 of each end pass through the perforations in the lower end of a single angle 23 projecting above the single angle portions of the double angles at that end. Above the level of the top of the double angles the central single angle portion 23 is utilized to hold straws which decrease progressively in length upwardly in order to define the shape of the gable.

The front 33 includes a central doorway 39 and windows 40 at opposite sides thereof. Straws 23 connect single angle portions of the double angle corners, at the top and bottom of the front or front wall. As illustrated, there are two of these connecting straws at the top and one at the bottom. At the top of the doorway 39 a straw extends between the two central angles but terminates at the inner edges of the window openings. Below this top member the doorway 39 is separated from the windows or window openings 40 by short pieces of straws held in the central angle members, and, at their outer sides, said windows are dened by short straws in the adjacent single angle portions of the double angle corners. Beneath said windows there are straws extending from the outer edge of the door opening through the single angle members and the single angle portions of the double angle members and to the corner of the housing. The back of the house may be formed in any suitable manner. Each single angle may be reinforced as are the angles in the roof by a straw passing between the connecting member and the vertex of the angle. At the corners the connecting portions of the double angles are held in position by straws between them and the ends of the straws at the sides and ends of the house.

It should be understood that changes may be made and that various features may be used without others, without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy construction fabricated of drinking straws and cardboard strips set up as a house having four walls, comprising in combination, a plurality of rectangularly shaped strips of cardboard, each strip being folded along the medial longitudinal line thereof and having a column pair of spaced apertures parallel to its said medial longitudinal line and symmetrically disposed laterally thereto, and a second plurality of cardboard strips of substantially double the Width of said rst plurality, each of said double strips being folded along the medial longitudinal line thereof and presenting a pair of identical panels, each of said panels having a medial fold and a column pair of spaced apertures identical to those of said single strips, and a plurality of drinking straws, four of said double strips being vertically disposed at the four corners of the house @and angularly distorted so that the said medial line of each is disposed within the confines of said house with one of its said panels disposed at one wall of the house and with the other'panel disposed at the adjacent normally relatedv wall thereof, said drinking straws being passed through the aligned apertures of one panel at one corner of the house and through the aligned apertures of the panel at another corner of the house, to constitute the side walls thereof. j

2. The toy construction'according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of drinking straws are vertically disposed within the space at each corner of the .house formed by portions of said double strips disposed within'the confines of the walls adjacent to the medial fold of the double strip and by the end portions of the drinking Straws of one wall which extend beyond the panel of the double strip to engage with the end portions of the drinking straws of the adjacent normally-related wall.

3. The toy construction according to claim 1 wherein at least one drinking straw is vertically disposed within the substantially triangular space deiined by the apex portions of the panels of the double strip disposed outwardly of the walls of the house and by said wall straws.

4. The toy construction according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said single strips is placed at a wall of the house and spaced away from the corner thereof, said strip being disposed with its medial fold corner outwardly of the walls of the house, said straws passing through the aligned pairs of apertures of said single strip.

5. The toy construction according to claim 4 wherein at least one drinking straw is vertically disposed within the substantially triangular space dened by the said single strip and said wall straws.

PIHLIP E. WILCOX.

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the le of this patent: i i

UNITED ySTATES PATENTS 

